Halohttp://www.maclife.com/taxonomy/term/7876/all
enN.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance Reviewhttp://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/nova_3_near_orbit_vanguard_alliance_review
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="http://www.maclife.com/files/u307916/2012/Online/appreviews/nova3thumb.jpg" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />Showing a bit more ambition than its predecessors, N.O.V.A. 3 aims to be slightly more than a shameless clone of Microsoft's Halo, adding in mechs and jetpacks to the sci-fi shooter along with a bit more personality and environmental variety. It's also quite the looker, with the universal app's gloss shining through brightly, especially on the new iPad.<br /><br />But like most of Gameloft's shooters, it hasn't quite nailed the solo experience. While visually impressive and certainly lengthy for an App Store adventure, the campaign frequently drags thanks to repetitive objectives and enemy encounters, plus missions that stretch on and on. Curiously, the levels also feature irritating bugs, such as botched aiming, faulty grenade buttons, and enemies stuck in walls. It looks nice, but the campaign just isn't much fun, and the bugs don't help matters.<br /><br />Luckily, as with last year's Modern Combat 3, Gameloft's latest comes alive online, as the 12-player battles capture the essence of a console or PC shooter on a much smaller screen. Whether on-foot, in a mech, or manning a jeep with teammates in tow, N.O.V.A. 3's tense deathmatches and objective-based battles overcome the clumsy controls and occasional spots of lag. Multiplayer combat easily outclasses the campaign, and for $7, you'll get a whole lot of action for very little.<br /><br /><strong>The bottom line.</strong> N.O.V.A. 3's campaign is a buggy bore, but excellent online multiplayer saves this slick shooter.</p><fieldset class="fieldgroup group-the-bottom-line"><legend>Review Synopsis</legend><div class="field field-type-text field-field-product">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Product:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
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<!--paging_filter--><p><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&amp;offerid=146261&amp;type=3&amp;subid=0&amp;tmpid=1826&amp;RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fn.o.v.a.-3-near-orbit-vanguard%252Fid474764934%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30" target="_blank">N.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance 1.0.0</a></p> </div>
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Gameloft </div>
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<!--paging_filter--><p><a href="http://www.gameloft.com" target="_blank">http://www.gameloft.com</a></p> </div>
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<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Price:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
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&lt;a href=&quot;http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&amp;offerid=146261&amp;type=3&amp;subid=0&amp;tmpid=1826&amp;RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fn.o.v.a.-3-near-orbit-vanguard%252Fid474764934%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30&quot; target=&quot;itunes_store&quot;&gt;$6.99&lt;/a&gt; </div>
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<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Requirements:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
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<!--paging_filter--><p>iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 4.0 or later</p> </div>
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<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Positives:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
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<!--paging_filter--><p>Online 12-player battles capture the feel and flow of big console and PC shooters. Looks fantastic, especially on the new iPad. Plenty to play on both solo and online sides for a $7 app.</p> </div>
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<!--paging_filter--><p>Repetitive campaign with dull, overlong missions and a surprising array of bugs. Controls prove a bit cumbersome on the touchscreen. In-app purchases more prevalent than in past versions.</p> </div>
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http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/nova_3_near_orbit_vanguard_alliance_review#commentsReviewsapp store reviewsAppLifeAppsGameloftGamesHaloiPod and iPhoneN.O.V.A. 3Near Orbit Vanguard AllianceNOVA 3SoftwareiPhoneGalleryWed, 16 May 2012 17:15:22 +0000Andrew Hayward14080 at http://www.maclife.comHalo Developer Bungie Registers Mobile Software Patenthttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/halo_developer_bungie_registers_mobile_software_patent
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u310631/bungie-aerospace2.png" width="498" height="350" /></p><p>Some intriguing news has leaked today from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungie_Software" target="_blank">Bungie</a>, the studio behind the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo:_Combat_Evolved" target="_blank">Halo</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth_%28series%29" target="_blank">Myth</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Trilogy" target="_blank">Marathon</a> series has reportedly filed for a trademark for "Crimson." What exactly "Crimson" is, we don't know, but it was filed under "computer game software for use on mobile and cellular phones."<a href="http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Various/Halo/news.asp?c=29795" target="_blank"></a></p><p><a href="http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Various/Halo/news.asp?c=29795" target="_blank">Pocketgamer is also reporting</a> that the jobs page on Bungie's website has listings for programmers with proficiency in one or more mobile platforms, specifically offering iOS, Android, and Windows 7 as examples.</p><p>Speculation is rampant at the moment about what Bungie could be up to. This development holds particular interest for diehard Mac-faithful. Bungie was one of the most lauded developers in the history of the Mac gaming scene before being acquired by the ultimate enemy, Microsoft, and working on their platforms for ten years.</p><p>Could the prodigal son be planning a return to Apple platforms? These days it's a no-brainer that anybody planning a mobile game would be planning it for the iPhone so Bungie's return seems obvious. The only question left is what exactly Bungie is building.</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/halo_developer_bungie_registers_mobile_software_patent#commentsNewsBungieBungie Aerospace CorporationCrimsonHaloiOSiphoneiPhoneiPodGamesThu, 12 May 2011 17:00:20 +0000Andrew Groen10929 at http://www.maclife.comGameloft Reveals New N.O.V.A. Episode on Facebookhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/gameloft_reveals_new_nova_episode_facebook
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u310631/2011/02/nova_elite.jpg" alt="NOVA Elite" width="480" height="390" /></p><p>As part of a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/gameloft?sk=wall" target="_blank">Facebook promotion</a>, highly popular iOS developer and publisher <a href="http://www.gameloft.com/" target="_blank">Gameloft</a> has pulled the lid off of its "secret project." The secret announcement turned out to be a brand new episode in the celebrated N.O.V.A. series [<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/n-o-v-a-2-near-orbit-vanguard/id400901458?mt=8#" target="_blank">iTunes Link</a>] of first person shooters. The announcement <a href="http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/image.asp?ids=7_15589_28799&amp;img=artwork/na-qxg/nova_elite.jpg" target="_blank">came today</a> as Gameloft reached a previously set goal of 300,000 Facebook followers.</p><p>There are next to zero details currently available, and the best info comes from a single screenshot. The game is called N.O.V.A. (Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance) Elite. It's been <a href="http://www.slidetoplay.com/story/nova-elite-announced" target="_blank">rumored</a> to be the first of Gameloft's upcoming Unreal Engine games, which would make sense given the high production values that have become associated with the series.</p><p>If you'll allow for a moment of nearly baseless speculation, the single shot of the game that has been released (above) gives us a small inkling of what the game might feature. The screen shows three soldiers standing side-by-side that appear to be of differing classes (one is holding a shotgun, another an assault-rifle-y thing, and another with thick armor is holding a minigun.) Given that N.O.V.A. has always been an unapologetic "homage" to the Halo series (a development strategy that Gameloft has been <a href="http://www.maclife.com/article/news/gamelofts_new_mmo_looks_lot_world_warcraft" target="_blank">criticized for lately</a>) it could be that this game will have a focus on cooperative play or at least class-based gameplay, which would be consistent with the most recent Halo games, Halo Reach and Halo 3: ODST.</p><p>This is a major release on the upcoming schedule of a major developer. The N.O.V.A. series is one of the most highly regarded in all of iOS gaming. So we'll definitely be keeping close tabs on this as it gets closer to release and as more information becomes available.</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/gameloft_reveals_new_nova_episode_facebook#commentsNewsGameloftHaloiOSiPadiphoneiPod touchN.O.V.A.N.O.V.A. EliteiPadiPhoneiPodGamesThu, 31 Mar 2011 17:31:08 +0000Andrew Groen10509 at http://www.maclife.comFan Supported Myth II Enters Public Beta on Machttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/fan_supported_myth_ii_enters_public_beta_mac
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u310631/myth002.jpg" alt="Myth 2" width="500" height="375" /></p><p>If you're not familiar with the <a href="http://projectmagma.net/what/" target="_blank">Myth series</a>, suffice to say that it's somewhat legendary among long-time Mac gamers. It stands next to Marathon as one of a very small catalogue of games that Mac gamers could hold over their PC-owning friends' heads back in the good old days. (Not coincidentally, they were developed by the same company, Bungie, who would later go on to join the Dark Side and make the Halo games for Microsoft.) Now, <a href="http://projectmagma.net/about/" target="_blank">Project Magma</a>, a group that works to keep the Myth series current, has announced that they are opening a public beta for their newest version, and they're seeking beta users to help bug-proof the code.</p><p>If you need convincing as to why you should be interested in trying out Myth, just hop on over to our <a href="http://www.maclife.com/article/the_top_10_apple_games_of_all_time">Top 10 Greatest Apple Games Ever list</a> where it sits at number one. It's a real-time strategy game that gained fame during the late 90s among strategy enthusiasts. Even in a time saturated with strategy games, Myth stood out by offering a focus on individual unit tactics rather than boring resource management a la Age of Empires or Starcraft.</p><p>You can download the public beta <a href="http://tain.totalcodex.net/items/show/myth-ii-1-7-2-public-beta-2" target="_blank">here</a>, so if you have some time for a nostalgia trip or if you're passionate about retro gaming, give these guys a hand and go help them smash some bugs.</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/fan_supported_myth_ii_enters_public_beta_mac#commentsNewsBungieHalomac gamingMagma ProjectMyth IIMacGamesTue, 22 Mar 2011 16:03:17 +0000Andrew Groen10408 at http://www.maclife.com